Portfolio: Project Details
201 West Richmond
Historic Restoration
Point Richmond, CA
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Interactive Resources provided architectural and structural engineering
services for the rehabilitation of this one hundred-year-old building, located
in the Point Richmond Historic District. The building is approximately 3,000
square feet, with exterior brick masonry bearing walls and a wood roof and
floor framing.
The building has been a contributing structure to the Point Richmond Historic
District since it’s completion in 1902. The Bank of Richmond was located here
until the early ‘20s when it became the location of the First Richmond Branch
Mercantile Trust Company, and then in the late ‘20’s to mid ‘30’s, the American
Trust Company. By the early ‘40’s it was a billiard hall, at one time called
“Bank Club Billiards”. Throughout the second half of the century, the building
housed a variety of commercial enterprises, from markets to beauty salons.
The Bank of Richmond building occupies a key site in the Point Richmond
Commercial District, and is situated on the corner of the two most important
main steets of the original town, Washington Avenue and Richmond (now West
Richmond) Avenue. The building was the first masonry building to be
constructed in Point Richmond and housed the community's first bank. The
original architecture featured red brick facades, arched openings, stairs and a
pair of late 19th Century style wood and glass storefronts. Apparently, some
ten years later, a new image (or perhaps better weather resistance) was
desired, and the original red brick facades were covered with glazed yellow
brick on the lower floor and stucco on the upper floor. The bank lobby was
enlarged and the celings made higher by lowering the floor to street level.
The historic character of the building has been (in some cases, painstakingly)
restored to its 1910 appearance. The restoration included reinstating a turret
roof over the circular bay window on the northwest second floor corner; the
original was removed many years ago. White paint, added in an early remodel,
has been carefully removed from the yellow glazed brick, and despite some
damage, the brick was largely intact and salvageable. Creative engineering
techniques were used to preserve the historic integrity of the building,
including strategic placement of structural elements to minimize impact on
original architectural features.
